Hand-operated brake mechanism.



W. D. BREWSTER.

HAND OPBRATED BRAKE MECHAMSM.

APPLICATION P11.E11JAN.27.1914

ss shaft.

STATES .PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM D. BBEWJSTER, OF SYBACUSE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL BRAKE COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF BUFFALO, lNE\V YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

HAND-OPEBATED BRAKE MECHANISM.

Toalliwli'omiit concern z Be it.' known that I, WILLIAM D. BREW- s'i'En, of Syracuae in, the county of Onon degli, .ini the Starte of New York, have. inf 6 vented new and useful Improvements in HnndOperaftedpBrake Mechanism, of which the ollowing,.ta.ken in1 connection with the accompanying drawings, is a f u`l1,relear,iind exact description. l'

This invention relatesy toy certain improvements in hand-operated brake mechanism for motor-driven andfother curs requiring a reliable emergencyl brake and refers more particularly to the means for transmitting inotionfromthe staff to the brake-operating zahle. i y

\The space aivailnble below the pletformof an; ordinary surface car for receiving extra mi chanism is necessarily limited, inconveniemoii accessaiiid allows an accumulation of excegsive-vquanti-ties of dust and other foreign iriatiier lipon any mechanism which muy be supported. in such space, and one of. the

main. objects of my present invention is to divide the bralteeoperating mechanism at the floor line so. that only the cable-operating to the drum therethrough, thereby bringing the` cebleoperating drum.- cloSeifto the bearings-on theplatform and reducing the strain upon said .drfim and its driving shaft :is wel-l as upon tievsupporting frame for said Another obect is tov make the supporting frames for the drum and its driving mechanismsepiiiztte so that they muy be applied to the. lower and nippel' surfaces of the plat- 40 form and adjusted relatively to each other to compensate for difl'erent thicknesses of platforms A further object is to provide simple means for taking up the slack of the brake` 46 .operating cable so :is to enzihle the operator to apply the brakes/instantly upon -an initiel movementoff the brake stai-fl',v thereby obviziting the necessityi o rotating the Shaft several turns before the cable is sugiciently 50 tight toapply 'the brakes Another object is to provide the holding pawl for: the staff with e retracting spring Specification of Letters Patent'.

Aypltcationled Jennery 2?, 1914- Sirial No. 814,880.

Patented Sept. 22,1914.

conceailed therein :ind operating to hold the pew] in engagement with the ratchet wheel on the stall.

Other objects md rises relating to specific ports of my invention will be brought out in vshowing :i portion of theplatforiii of a car iipon which the brake-operating'mechanism is mounted'. Figi is an enlarged hercontrd sectional vieuthroii'gh the holding ing'spring therein. Fig,V 4 is perspectiva view of therndzicent ends of the` detached sections of the reke stuff showing the ux1i' versal joint.

The broke-operating mechanism, forming the subject matter Aof my'present invention, is adapted `to be-secured to the platform or floor A of u car :und comprises a dru1nsupportink frame 1 and a gear case 2 boi of which are secured respectively to the under side Aand, upper side of the platform A by clamping bolts 3 passing through the platform sind4 apertured' 'ears or ings 4 and 5- on the gfi'iunennd gear cese to firmly hold *those parts' in operative position oi' in fixed relzi tion to euch other und to tliejpliitform.

rl`he drum-supporting freine --1- is preferably made in sections :ind consists of :i bnse plate 6 and a ciip-sl'inped body 7- having openings through its sides to permit the pais-sage ofzi brzilce-opernting cable 8 therethrough :is will behereinafter more fully described. v

The cup-shaped body 7 having its upperend provided with the ears or lugs 4- while the -pliite liis clamped between sind lugs :ind the'underside of the plzitform by means of the bolts 3 T he gear case Q is made in sections ond comprisee a base phite Q and an inverted ciip-jslnipcd section l0 having I the edges of its open side'bearing upon the pziwl forC upper face of the plate -9- which in turn is clamped between the section -10 L- and upper surface of the platform -A- 'by means of the bolts -3, thereby forming a dust-proof housing for th'ejinclosed operating parts presently described.

A vertical shaft l1- is journaled at its lower end and intermediate portion in suitable bearings -12- and 13- in the frame sections --7-w and -6-Y while the upper end of the shaft extends through ran opening in the-platform and some distance above the same and is journaled in a` bearing Lion the base plate Sl-f of the gear case, said bearing extending into the opening in thefplatform but is spaced apart at -15- from the base plate -6- of the lower frame -1 a suliicientV distance to compensate for slight variations in the thickness of different platforms to which the brake mechanism may be applied.

The portion of the shaft v 1lH between the bearings 12- and --13-' is angular or square in cross sect-ion and upon this angular portion is mounted a winding dipm M1.6- for the cable 8-,-said drum having its lower end provided with a furcated lateral .offset-' l* having a series of radial` openings at different distances from the axis of the drum for receiving a pin M18- by which the cable may be Aattached to the drum at diierent distances from its axis according to the position ofthe pin in one or the other of the apertures in the ofi'- set portion -17-.

The upper portion of the drum -16-- is cylindrical and of considerably less diameter than the distance from the airis to the pin '-18, the. object of the offset portion 17- being to force the brakes to their brakingpositions instantly upon a slight turning movement of the drum as produced by the operating mechanism hereinafter described whereupon the cable engages the periphery of `the cylindrical portion of the drum when the axis where the leverage is reduced and the power of application of the brakes materially increased. The upper end of the shaft -11 above the bearing -14- is also angular in cross section and upon this angular portion is fitted a relatively large gear -QO- having an annular recess 21- Yin its lower side for receiving a coil spring T22- for taking up the slack of the chain mr'a' manner presently described. the inner end'of the spring being attached to a stud .-JZB-f rising from the base plate ;9- of the gear case while the outer end is attached to a lstud --24- on the under side of the web of the gear -20-, vthe top of the gear being substantiallv' flat and open at the corresponding end ot the shaft -1lwhich is spaced apart from the underside of the top of the case section 10* to allow the entire gear case to be moved downwardly t0- ward the drum-supporting frame a short distance in case there should be a Sli ht va riation in the thickness of the plat orm.

The verticalgbrake stati i5-iis journaled at its lower end in suitable bearings in the lower Iand upper sections -9- and wl()-u on the gear case some distance to oneV side of the periphery of the gearfQO and is provided with a gear --26- located within the gear case and meshing with said Gear.

D The portion of the brake staii' just above the top of the gear case is angular in cross section and upon this angular portion is `mounted a ratchet wheel-27q having its hub resting upon the upper side of the case section 10Ml which is also provided with a vertically projecting stud Q8- for receiving and supporting a holding pawl P29#, the latter being springpressed into engagement with the teeth ofY the ratchet Wheel 27-- by a spring -30--. This spring seated in a slot M31 opening y from the. outer end of the stud p28-=lnd extends radially in opposite directions and equidistant` from the stud in .i longitudi nal recess 39.H in the underside oflt-he pawl as shown more iarly in Fig. 3, the ends of the recess being reduced in Width to approximately the thickness of the spring so as to bear against both sides thereof.

It is evident from the foregoing descripv tion that the paWl is actuated byboth ends of the spring which is adjusted so asfto maintain the pawl in holding engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel under` yielding pressure, thereby permitting the ratchet wheel to be rotated in the direction indicated by arrow X for winding the cable on the drum -16- and preventing the rot-ation of said drum and its operating mechanism in the opposite direction. The object in placing this spring within the recess in the underside of the pawl is to exclude dust therefrom and prevent injuny thereto by contact with external objects and at the same time bringing the pawl and spring into a more compact space than would lie the case it the spring were located at. the, outside of the pawl. The brake stati' -25- is preferably made in sections connected by a universal joint to prevent bindingI of the stati' in its bea-rings in case the plattorm'should settle or warp from its original position.

As previously stated. the object of thescoil spring -22- is to automatically take up vany slack in the cable -HS- and for this purpose the spring is, placed under constant tensiongltending to drive thtV gear in the same direction/ as would bc pr )duced by the y stati" in winding the cable on the drum, it

being understood that this spring tension is )ust suflicient to take up such slack and to .Lutero t a thereby .kee the bralte Shoes close to the wheels rea for instant braking Aaction u o the slightest initial rotation of the -brae stati. By means of this automatic takup device, the hund brake is always ready for emergency application of 'the brakes without the necessity of rotating the brake Staff one or' more turns as shown before the brakes are applied.

The operation of the device is made appar- 'ent i the foregoing description, anu although the drum case and gear case are shown as applied res ectively to the lower and upper surfaces o the floor and constitutes an important feature of my invention, I do not Wish to limit myself to this con struction and arran ement nor to the details shown and describe Another important fea-ture in the opera.

2o tion of the spring *29*- is that it is placed under compara-tively high tension during the Windin of the cable on the drum to apply the brtres so that when the power ernlyed 4in the operation of the brakes is 'reeased and the'pawl "9- tripped, the spring 'reverses the o eration of the breite mechanism and orcib y and rapidly restores it to its normal osition, thereby instantly releasingthe braEes and at the same-time alwuys maintaining aV taut cable even' when the" brakes are released. j l

What I claim is: l. In combination with the platform of a car, brakefoperating mechanism comprising a vertical shaft extending through the platform, separate bearings for the shaft .se cured respectivel to the lower and upper sides of the plat orm and relatively adustable to compensate for dierent thicknesses o ofplatforms, a brake-operating cebie, u

' winding drum therefor, and driving means for the shaft above the platform.

2. In combination with the platform of a oar a drum-su portin 46 un erside of tie platorm, a brake-operating cable, a winding drum for the cable Within said frame, a vertical drivin r shaft for the drum extending through an above the y plutfarm, a gear case secured to the upper 59 side of the platform, inter-meshing gears within the gear case, one of said gears being secured to the vertical shaft, and a brakestai secured to the other gearv for driving the gears and brake drum.

3. In combination with the platform of a car, a drum-supporting frame secured to they underside of the platform, a gear eecured to the upper side of the platform and spaced apart therefrom to allow for veria- 60 tions in the thicknesses of different platforms, a brake-operating cable, a winding drum for the cable Within the frame, gears within the gear case, a vertical shaft connecting the drum and one of the. lgen1-s through the 'datform, and a brukestaf connected to the e5' other gear for driving the gears and drum.

al, Brake-operating mechanism comprising e cable, a winding drinn therefor, a driving .shaft 'for the drum, a brake stati, means for transmitting motion from the brake stati? to the drum shaft, and means coecting with said transmitting means for turning` the sli-ift and drum to automatically wind the 'cable thereon. for taking up any slack in the Cable. i 75 Brake-operating mechanism comprising a cable, a 'winding drum therefor, means for rotating' the drum' including a brake stati', and a spring tensioned to rotate the drum to wind the cable thereon and to take up the slack therein.

il. Brakc-operatin mechanism comprising a eeolc, a winling drum therefor, s drum Shaft, a gear zon the shaft chambered in one side, a coil spring in thc chamber having one end attached to tlie'gezir, a fixed support for the other end of the spring, seid 'spring being tensioned to rotatethe slmt't in a directimi to wind the cable en the drum for taking up the slack therein, and means fr rotating'tiie geur.r

'7. Breite-operating mechanism comprising a drum, e. cable attached to the drum, means for rotating the drum in one direction to 'wind the cable thereon', ende` sprixig ten- 9b sioned to drive the drum-operating mecha- Vnism in the same direction to. automatically take up vthe slack in the cable.'

8. In combination Witli-the'pla-tform or door of a car, brake-operating mechanism comprising a drum ce'sevand algear Cese se# cured respectively vto the lower and tipp sides of the door, a-drum in the ldrum cas a cable attached to 4the drum, drum shaft extending through the door into the gear case. a gear in the gear case mounted on the ,shaft and chainbccd in one -side,' a coil 'frame secured to the springin the chamber haring. one end etached to the gear case and its other end attached to the gear, said spring being tenv sioned to rotate the gear in one direction to wind the cable on the drum for. takingup the slack a brake stell having a pinion in the guar meshing with the gear for driving the gear and rotatingr the drum in the same direction as the spring, and holding means for the brake stall' comprising a ratchet wheel secured thereto, and a pawl pivoted to the top of the gear cese and spring-pressed into engngement'with the ratchet wheel.

9, Brake-operating mechanism com rising,r a cable, e Windinfgf drum therefor, lriving means for l e drum, and alspring placed under tension by thewinding` operation of the drum to rewind said drum and restore the drum to its starting position forlreleesing the brakes when the. driving means is released.

10. Brake-operating mechanism com rising a cable, 'awinding drum therefor, riving means for the drum, and a spring placed under tension by the winding operation of the drum to rewind said drum and restore bhe drum to its startin psition 'for releasngthe brakes when 51e driving means is releiused,l said spring being normally ten-l sioned to automatically take up the slack of the cable.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 17th day of Iovember,1913.- WILLIAM D. BREWSTER.- VVit-nesses:

H. E. CHASE,- EvA G'RmENLEAF. 

